Loving You From Above
by Kaye Jordan
Summary: AU/AH At her parent's funeral, a young Elena meets a mysterious man who helps her cope in dealing with the loss of her parents. Elena quickly realizes, however, that he is not exactly who he appears to be.


**Hey everyone! This is my absolute first attempt at writing fanfiction, so I hope it doesn't come across as too cringe-worthy HAHA. This story is all Damon/Elena, but I might throw in other couple pairings as well – we'll see how it goes first. The idea for this story actually came to me in a dream, but I modified it to fit our favorite TVD couple ;) I should let you know, though, that this is probably one of my more far out stories in that it may get a little weird, but never fear, I know what I'm doing with it HAHA. Anyway, enough of my babbling and let's get on with the story! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its affiliations.**

**Prologue:**

_November 12, 2002_

It pained Elena Gilbert to watch the twin polished wooden caskets carry her mother and father deeper and deeper into the abyss of the Earth; she looked across the graves to see her younger brother, Jeremy, with the same tearful expression that she held on her own face. Aunt Jenna, their mother's younger sister, stood calmly by his side with three red roses in hand as she watched the dirt begin to pile onto the caskets and take away a part of their loving family.

As a lamenting tune began to fill the quiet confines of the cemetery, Elena slowly made her way over to Aunt Jenna. Their unsuspecting guardian handed the two children each a rose to commemorate the life of their now deceased parents. Elena kneeled before the ornate headstone and placed her rose lovingly in the middle, while Jeremy simply dropped the flower and ran away in a grieving fit with Aunt Jenna calling after him.

It was a simple funeral, Elena now noticed. Only close friends of the family had even bothered to show up, including Elena's three childhood best friends, Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt. They all cared for Elena but even they realized that their friend wanted to be given one last moment with her parents alone. As the crowd around the graves began to disperse, Elena was left staring absentmindedly at the plots before her, one tear daring to drop from the corner of her doe brown eye.

It was a rather gorgeous day, one that her parents would have enjoyed, Elena thought optimistically. The cemetery was equally beautiful; the freshly cut green grass was enough to make any white picket fence home jealous of its picturesque quality. Each of the gray headstones was lined up in an orderly fashion, leading to a much wooded area beyond the resting place. Elena was at least happy that her parents were able to stay in such a tranquilizing place.

A slight breeze had begun to pick up and gave the 13-year-old a rejuvenated feeling. Elena looked towards the sky and closed her eyes, spreading her arms out and taking a deep breath of the autumn air. She could do this, she told herself. She would make her parents ultra proud of the woman she longed to become.

Elena dropped her arms back to the ground and opened her eyes, expecting to see a now empty cemetery, but was rather surprised when she saw a man nearby with his back towards her staring at another gravesite. He was dressed in a formal black evening suit, but Elena didn't remember seeing anyone like him at the funeral. Curiosity got the best of her, however, and Elena made a great deal to stand up rather dramatically to garner his attention; it worked. The man turned around gracefully, his eyes widening slightly as he took in the disheveled girl. Elena stared right back at him, coming to the conclusion that she had definitely never seen anyone like him before. His raven black hair glistened brightly in stark contrast to his porcelain-like skin, while his eyes hit the sunlight in such a way that they took on an intense shade of cerulean blue Elena could have only dreamed about.

A twinge of guilt suddenly washed over Elena when she realized that the man probably wanted to be left alone as well. "I'm sorry," she despondently muttered. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

The man's beautiful eyes widened even more as he suddenly smiled like a Cheshire cat; if Elena wouldn't have known any better, she would have thought that the man was considerably elated to see her. "It's not a problem," he said. She couldn't help but notice the way his voice had a rich velvety-sound to it.

Elena looked towards the ground with a slight grimace on her face. "I just lost my parents in a car accident," she stated, really because she didn't know what else to say to this man. "Their funeral was today."

"I'm sorry that you have to go through something like this at such a young age," he replied in a forlorn way.

Elena looked up and vaguely realized that the man was beginning to edge closer her way; it surprised her when she recognized how unafraid of him she actually was. "I'm Elena," she intrepidly told him. She expected him to immediately give his name in return but discovered that that was not the case. After a moment's hesitation, he finally answered. "I'm Damon."

Elena smiled. A name like Damon certainly suited this man. "If you don't mind me asking, Damon, were you a friend of our family's?"

Damon gave a slight chuckle. "No, I'm just here visiting actually." Elena did not fail to notice the light sarcasm behind which he said that.

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss as well."

"Thank you," he painfully smiled.

Elena glanced around nervously, trying to come up with a much lighter – and less awkward – topic to talk about. Luckily, however, Damon noticed her discomfort.

"Have you ever noticed how death brings people closer together?" he asked contemplatively.

Elena looked at him with a confused expression on her face. This wasn't the kind of light-hearted topic she had had in mind. "What do you mean? Usually death takes people away from you."

Damon inwardly grinned at her quick wit. "True, but I meant the people left behind on this Earth. Families and friends are brought closer together because someone they truly cared about is now gone. They have to turn to each other for support and feel obligated to keep each other safe from all the other grief in this world." Damon smirked as his short speech brought on some distant memory. "By doing so," he finished quietly, "it creates one of the strongest bonds you could ever possibly hope for."

"Is that what happened with your family?" Elena whispered.

Damon smiled to himself. "In a way, yes, I guess so."

Elena gave Damon a shy smile. "So, I guess you're saying that I should go back to my family and put your words to good use."

"That would probably be best," Damon chuckled.

Elena glanced behind her and could barely make out Aunt Jenna consoling Jeremy in the distance. She knew what she had to do. "You know," she started, "you said that death brings people closer together. I guess you could say that applies to us now as well, huh?"

"I believe it does, Elena."

Elena turned back around to tell Damon goodbye properly, but was shocked to find him no longer standing there. She briefly wondered if that whole conversation did not just happen in her head but quickly dismissed the thought; Elena figured that she was already crossing the fine line between grief and the distortion of reality.

Before heading back to her newly formed family, however, Elena's interest was piqued as she noticed the gravesite that Damon was previously standing at. It was an austere grave that had a vase of white lilies placed directly in front of the small grave marking. She gradually made her way over to the plot but had a momentary setback when she saw what was written on the headstone.

_Damon G. Salvatore_

_November 8, 1976 – March 13, 2000_

_Loving Son, Loving Brother_

**So, what did you guys think? I know this was short, but I intend to make much longer chapters after this one. Right now, I know things may seem a bit confusing (or not), but I don't want to give anything away before I get into the real plot. Remember, reviews are greatly appreciated, and I am happy to take any criticism you guys have. Thank you for reading!**


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